Nightly Conversation
by daily-chan
Summary: Unable to sleep Harry joins Sirius and Remus in the kitchen late at night and learns more about them and his own past in a nightly conversation. There is baking involved. Rating is for the mentioning of Torture and what some might judge as strong language.


Nightly conversation.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. If I did, Sirius and Remus would have never ever died._

_Summary: Unable to sleep Harry joins Sirius and Remus in the kitchen and learns more about them and his own past in a nightly conversation. There is baking involved._

_That said…I don't believe I have ever written such a shitty summary before._

_This is sort of a sequel to Home as there is a slight mentioning of that story in here, but other than that it stands alone._

_This story involves my take on Sirius' childhood. I have no clear evidence any of this truly happened but from what we learn from the books, this is my believe._

_It takes place in the summer before fifth year._

_Warnings: I rated it T for safety reasons. It contains mentioning's of torture and death and what some people might find strong language._

_Contains slight Molly and Dumbledore bashing but nothing too big._

_This is written as friendship but can be seen as light slash between Sirius and Remus if you please._

Special thanks to Kitty, our conversations are what brought this to life.

And special thanks to Ra-chan, her everlasting support and enthusiasm always give me the courage to post things and try to write more.

Thank you both.

Enjoy the story.

Xxxxxxxx

Sirius Black had always had the reputation of being absolutely unpredictable. Whenever someone thought they had figured the handsome boy out he´d do something to throw them completely of guard again. And usually he didn´t even do it consciously.

He had a way to surprise even those who had known him for years with ingenious pranks and opinions of life. His unorthodox way of dueling made many a foe underestimate his abilities until it was too late.

Sirius Black was many different things in the eyes of many different people. But there was one thing that both his friends and his enemies agreed on without a doubt. Sirius Black was anything but predictable.

Twelve years in Azkaban had robbed him of a lot of things; his unpredictability however was not one of them.

So why Remus was so surprised to enter the kitchen in the middle of the night to find his old friend baking, he did not know.

Sirius´ sleeves were pushed up to above his elbows, revealing thin pale scarred arms covered in what looked to be chocolate cake mix moving around in a bowl.

"Why are you baking?" Remus asked as he moved to lean against the counter beside his friend.

The bowl Sirius had been stirring in almost slipped from the counter as he heavily startled and only Remus ' quick reaction prevented it from falling down.

"Moony! Don't sneak up on me"

Remus winced. He really should have known better than to quietly move around an unexpected Sirius. Even almost two years after he'd escaped from the horrible prison the dark haired man was still jumpy at unexpected moments.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep and I heard noise in here so I came to investigate."

"You startled me" Sirius admitted softly as he took the bowl back from him and continued mixing with his hands.

"You do realize using magic would be a lot easier right. Or even transfiguring a mixer."

Sirius shrugged. "I'm not in a hurry. I'm not expecting Harry for another hour or so and it's comforting to work like this."

"Harry? You are baking for Harry?" Remus asked surprised.

"Who else would I be baking for in the middle of the night when it's not the night before the full moon?"

"Point taken. I have to admit I am surprised to see you baking at all. You haven't baked in years" Even as the words left his mouth he winced and they both stiffened at the remembrance of just where Sirius had been for years.

"Sorry." Remus said softly.

"Don't mention it" Sirius answered equally softly and an awkward silence fell between them as Sirius attacked the bowl a bit more fiercely than before.

Remus watched his friend in silence for a bit before he cleared his throat, wanting to break the silence between them.

"So…what is the occasion for which you are baking?"

"Harry's fifteenth birthday."

"Isn't Molly making a cake in the morning for him?" Remus asked.

"Probably" was the short reply and Remus frowned at the unhappy tone Sirius had uttered.

He shifted his weight and watched in silence as Sirius checked the mix before spreading it into a form before putting it into an old oven.

His friend stilled once the oven was closed, apparently listening for something before he glanced at the clock and grabbing two pans.

"Chocolate or tea?"

Remus smiled. "Chocolate of course. As if I'd ever choose otherwise when you are making it."

Sirius showed his first smile since their conversation had started as he poured a can of milk into one pan and filled the other with water, putting both on the stove and dumping a bar of chocolate into a small bowl, putting it above the water pan and stirring in it slowly.

"So what's the deal with the cake if you know Molly will insist upon making one?"

"Do I really need to have a reason for wanting to bake my godson a cake for his birthday or ask Molly for her permission to do so?"

Remus opened his mouth to reply but closed it immediately again before anything could come out. If Sirius felt like making a cake for Harry's birthday then that was his good right to do so. Regardless of what Molly might feel Harry was Sirius' godson.

And if Remus was very honest with himself he'd have to admit he looked forward to a piece of Sirius' cake.

The dog Animagus' baking skills were legendary among the Marauders and other friends.

Remus couldn't deny being utterly surprised when Sirius had showed up in the hospital wing the morning after the full moon with a chocolate muffin in third year. He'd naturally been very suspicious but he didn't think his friend would be cruel enough to play a prank on him so close after the full moon…mostly.

It had turned out as a pleasant surprise when not only the muffin not a prank, but it was absolutely delicious and comforted his healing body in way's only chocolate could.

The pure bloods unexpected talent for baking was soon discovered by the others and although they teased him about it, Remus could always count on a homemade chocolate treat after the full moon. How Sirius had found out about both his love for chocolate and the healing power it possessed against the darkness of the wolf Remus never knew but he was tremendously grateful for the kind act.

James especially had taken great pleasure in teasing them both about their small ritual but he never failed to try and bribe Sirius for some of his own favorite cake.

In the later years, once the three had become Animagus, Sirius changed his nightly baking time to late afternoon so the treat would still be ready in time and Remus had often sneaked to watch him bake. Partly because it was fun to watch Sirius bake and partly because his friend always let him clear out the used bowl after he was done with it.

"Are you going to clean it out or should I just wash it off?"

"Huh?" Remus pulled himself out of his thoughts to see Sirius holding the bowl out to him and he couldn't help but smile as Sirius had unknowingly followed his thoughts.

He quickly snatched the bowl out of Sirius' hands, ignoring the amused grey eyes watching him as he swiped up some mix onto his finger and put it into his mouth.

"For a moment I thought you were sick."

Remus chuckled. "I was lost in thoughts"

"I noticed, I used to have to defend the bowl with treats and hits from the spatula from your hungry hands." Sirius answered dryly. "What were you thinking about?"

"Chocolate treats and how James used to almost beg on his knees for a piece."

"Who's begging for a piece of what?" A new voice asked and both Marauders turned to see Harry walk into the kitchen while rubbing his eyes, holding his glasses in his free hand.

"You are early tonight" Sirius said as he stopped stirring and grabbed three mugs.

"Ron's snoring drove me insane." Harry grumbled as he sat down at the kitchen table and accepted the mug Sirius placed before him. "Thanks."

Sirius frowned "Between his snoring and your nightmares you hardly get any sleep at all."

"I don't really see any solution to it Sirius." Harry answered with a sigh.

"Why don't you crash in my room? You'd get some sleep then."

Harry looked up surprised to his godfather and Remus had to suppress a chuckle at his expression.

"I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Nonsense. And if it would make you uncomfortable to share a bed with me I could just crash with Remus or sleep as Padfoot."

Harry's expression changed from slight shock to one of complete shock.

"You'd do that for me?"

Sirius smiled. "Of course."

"Why?"

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance and Sirius frowned again.

"Why not? You are our Harry." He shrugged and Remus smiled at how Sirius' simple answer made Harry look confused.

"What Sirius is meaning to say is that you are part of our small family and family is there for one another in any way possible."

"So if I'd rather have Sirius to leave his own room…" Harry trailed off.

"Then I'd crawl in besides Remus, no problem." Sirius answered with a shrug.

"But wouldn't you bother Remus then?"

"I wouldn't mind Harry. I'm actually quite used to his company in my bed"

Sirius, who had been taking a sip of his chocolate promptly choked on it and Harry turned an interesting shade of red at his words.

"You…"

"Rem!"

Remus blinked and took in their reactions before he too colored brightly.

"No…I didn't mean it like that." He waved his hands in front of his face in an attempt to wave his previous words away.

Sirius cleared his throat and shot him a glare.

"What Remus is trying to say is that while we indeed often shared a bed there was no sexual intention involved in the action at all."

"Why did you share a bed then?" Harry asked curiously as his color slowly returned back to normal.

"Nightmares. We both had our fair share of them and there is a silent comfort in having someone close to you that you trust." Sirius answered.

Harry nodded, knowing the frightened and miserable feeling he always felt after he woke up from a nightmare. It was part of the reason why he was always happy to find Sirius in the kitchen with hot chocolate in the aftereffects on one.

"Did…" Harry bit his lip, not sure if he actually wanted to know the answer to the question that was on his mind.

"James rarely had nightmares. But he was always there when Sirius woke up from one." Remus smiled at the memory. "In sixth year Sirius had so many nightmares that we eventually gave up on separate beds all together. James and I would take turns to just crawl in besides him when we were going to bed and hold him close when the nightmares would hit."

"Did it help?" Harry asked in awe.

"You'd be surprised how much it helps to wake up from a bad dream, wrapped in the arms of someone who makes you feel safe and loved." Sirius answered softly as he looked down to his cup.

"Why did you have so many nightmares?" Harry asked softly, truly curious to what might have scared his godfather so much as a young boy.

Sirius snorted. "You really need to ask after having seen what kind of people my family was?"

Harry swallowed. "I guess not, sorry."

Sirius sighed. "You are allowed to ask questions Harry. Some I might not be happy to answer, but I'll always be fair in why I don't answer a question." He swallowed. "My parents were horrible people. Stuck up, cruel and very sadistic. They have never been happy with me, with my opinions or actions. Not even as a toddler was I good enough in their eyes. And where some parents believe in raising their children lovingly despite their differences mine weren't like that. They believed that if a child didn't act according to their demands, the hard hand was the best way. Or in their case, inflicting pain to frighten the child into submission was their preferred method."

"They beat you?" Harry asked in shock.

Sirius shrugged. "They never touched me with their hands, too Muggle like in their minds and they despised anything remotely Muggle. They preferred dark spells not unlike Crucio above anything else, though they did rather like the whip on occasion."

Harry stared at Sirius in shocked silence. He'd known Sirius didn't see eye to eye with his parents and had run away when he was sixteen. He had always wondered why but had never worked up the nerve to actually ask. But even in his deepest and darkest thoughts he'd never had imagined an answer like that.

"The…they tortured you?" His voice barely came above a whisper as the disgust he felt at Sirius' mother ten folded with the realization of just what kind of childhood his godfather had had.

Sirius shrugged and Remus sighed.

"When we found out in third year James had a whole fit. Did everything he could to try and get Sirius the hell out of there."

"Then why didn't he?" Harry asked, feeling slight anger at his father for not helping his best friend when he so clearly had needed it.

"It's not that easy Harry. My family was the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. They were one of the most powerful and dark families ever existing and pretty much on the top of the food chain in the Wizarding world. Many families married into the Black family, giving the family even more political power. Although the Potters were a Noble and Ancient House they were seen as blood traitors for being Muggle friendly. It would have been political suicide had they interfered in what the Black family did to and with their own members."

He sighed upon seeing Harry's disbelieving expression. "If the Potters had tried to take me from my parents without their permission and without any clear evidence they'd have lost any power they had in the Wizarding World. They'd have lost their seat and without it the balance would have tipped over to the dark families, giving Voldemort free reign. Even though they wanted to help me, they couldn't, not without risking everything they worked so hard for to stop."

"But didn't they do anything to help you?" Harry asked. He wanted to stay mad; his family should have helped Sirius, regardless of the consequences. But a small part of him, the part that thought things through rationally realized that Sirius was right. His grandparents couldn't risk it all to help one boy.

"Oh they did. Inviting me for the holiday's, in ways that gave my parents no choice than to accept or they'd lose face so they had to let me go for a few weeks every vacation. Sending me little treats during the school year. James especially worked really hard to learn as many healing spells as he could, Remus too. They usually helped me heal most of my wounds when the new school year began and covered for me during the first weeks of school when I was still not completely well. Remus always took over my home work after the holiday's and James forced me to eat even when I didn't want to. They took really good care of me."

"But you ran away"

Sirius nodded. "Yes, when I was sixteen they went too far. I'd gotten a lot more powerful over the years, learning as many spells as I could and one evening they made some comments that rubbed me wrongly and I opened my mouth. The result was not pretty but I managed to get away, blew up half of the house in my fear and rage while I was at it. I managed to transform into Padfoot and run all the way to your dad´s. Your grandparents took me in immediately; finally having what they needed to blackmail my parents into letting me go by going through my grandfather."

His grey eyes lifted from staring into his cup to meet Harry´s emerald ones with a smile on his lips.

`Your family has been the second best thing that has ever happened to me." Harry swallowed at the intense warmth displayed in Sirius eyes when he spoke about Harry's family and smiled back at Sirius. He bit his lip for a moment before he couldn't contain his curiosity.

"What was the best thing that happened to you then?"

"Your birth." Sirius answered with a huge beam on his face and Remus chuckled at Harry's surprised expression when the words registered.

Sirius cleared his throat and in a clear attempt to make Harry more comfortable again he changed the subject."But we totally got off track. Back to our original conversation...do you want to give sleeping in my room a chance?"

Harry stared at him for a moment before he nodded.

"Good. I'll grab some stuff before you go back to …"

"No!...I mean…you don't have to crash with Remus. I..Uh…I don't mind you being in the bed with me." Harry stuttered out as he felt himself turn red again.

Remus coughed to hide a chuckle before taking a mouth full of chocolate to hide his amused expression. It was rather endearing to see Harry so flustered.

Sirius smiled. "Okay. Though I'll sleep as Padfoot on the bed edge. Might be a bit less awkward at first don't you think?" He said with a wink and Harry smiled lightly as he nodded.

"Probably. Thanks."

"Any time pup."

Harry chuckled. "Why do you do that? I've been wondering but both of you call me pup or cub on occasion."

Remus and Sirius glanced at each other before they both let out a laugh.

"It's a pack thing. I'm a werewolf and instinctively I see Sirius and James as pack mates. Lily too. You being their son automatically translate you as the pack's cub in my sub consciousness and sometimes it slips out."

Harry smiled at the explanation Remus gave him. It did make sense for him. He shifted his glance to Sirius who laughed.

"It's a bit more intimate for me I have to admit. The moment we learned Lily was pregnant you were family to me. I've always seen James as my brother and Lily as my sister in law. But it wasn't till the moment you were born and I held you as you took your first breath that I realized you were mine. Sure, you were James and Lily's child, but I've always loved you as my own. And because of Padfoot that got translated into pup. You were so precious." Sirius smiled as his expression and gray eyes warm as he was clearly lost in memories of baby Harry.

Harry couldn't stop the jump in his heart at the obvious love and devotion in his godfather's expression. From the bottom of his heart Sirius truly loved him unconditionally and that realization filled Harry with so much happiness he could feel a lump forming in his throat.

"You were there when I was born?" He asked, swallowing to remove the lump from his throat. If anything, the warmth in his godfather's expression became even warmer as his grey eyes shone in happiness.

"Yeah, I was actually the one who brought you into the world. Your dad had gotten into trouble for the Order and was at St Mungo. Your mum was heavily pregnant so I took her through the Muggle entrance for your and her safety. Except the elevator to the floor your dad was on broke down between two floors and we were stuck. It was that moment that you decided you wanted to come out and Lily's water broke. There was no choice but to get you there and then when she started going into labor shortly after that. Just after I had placed you in Lily's arms the elevator door opened and James stood there, shakily and absolutely shocked. Till he saw you, then his face broke into the most amazing beam I'd ever seen on him. Even greater then when Lily finally said yes to a date with him in seventh year."

"Why didn't they use magic to open the doors?" Harry asked, awed about hearing about his birth and somehow glad Sirius had been there.

"There are wards on the elevators so that in case of an attack they could hide patients in there and move them to safety. No one knew why the elevators broke down as they shouldn't have been able to, but they did."

"So my dad wasn't there when I was born?" Harry asked.

"Not in person. He heard Lily's screams, my urging her on and your first wail through the doors though. The moment his arms wrapped around you was the most beautiful moment of his life." Sirius answered.

Harry swallowed and fought back happy tears as he smiled brightly. "And mum?"

Sirius chuckled. "She spend most of the delivery screaming things at me that I hadn't even heard of before. Scared the crap out of me when she threatened to do certain things to me while it wasn't even my fault she was pregnant. But when you were finally there and started crying she was the proudest and happiest woman in the world. Neither of them could stop staring at you."

Remus chuckled. "Neither could you. I was already there when they got stuck in the elevator and was present when they asked Sirius to be your godfather and placed you back into his arms. He was covered in blood from the delivery but as he cradled you into his arms he was beaming like he just saw heaven split open before him."

"I did. You were the most beautiful and precious thing I had ever seen. Still are." Sirius added quietly as his eyes shone even more. Harry beamed back at him while slightly blushing. Already slightly becoming used to be so loved by the two men before him so he felt less uncomfortable.

It was funny. Harry had always thought adults didn't regularly show emotions, other than the anger Uncle Vernon and Snape always displayed. He had especially gotten the idea that male adults didn't do the whole emotion thing in public. But spending more and more time with his godfather and Remus showed him that that was not exactly true. Maybe it was just those two but they did the emotion thing openly and easily. At least with him. Neither was afraid to show what they were feeling at all and it comforted Harry in way's he couldn't describe to see the open love and affection in their eyes and displayed on their faces.

They looked at one another for a moment before a bell went of softly and Sirius blinked, breaking the moment.

"Whoops. Almost forgot." He said as he quickly moved from the table to the oven, pulling the cake out.

"That smells good." Harry commented as he sniffed the air. "I didn't know you could bake."

"He's brilliant at it, quite a good cook too. When he was living with your parents and you they always tried to make him cook."

"You weren't any better Moony." Sirius said as he put the cake down on the table and poured some icing over it.

Remus laughed. "True. I can cook, but I'm not half as brilliant as Sirius is. I usually simply waited for Sirius to come home before having dinner."

"You lived together?" Harry asked.

"Yes. After graduating from Hogwarts it was hard to find a place to live. People don't easily rent out to werewolves. Sirius had gotten a place of his own shortly before and invited me to stay with him for a while. Only a while became kind of permanent. I kept saying I'd find a place soon till Sirius shut me up and bribed me into living with him permanently. Though he hardly ever came home again after you were born." Remus said with a chuckle at Harry's questioned expression and decided to elaborate.

"You often wouldn't fall asleep unless Sirius was present. Your parents tried a lot of things but you'd be calmest when Sirius was there. He tried to leave after you'd fallen asleep but if you woke up and he wasn't there you'd scream until James finally begged Sirius to return and pick you up again."

Sirius laughed. "Or you'd simply refused to go to sleep at all, knowing I would leave when you did. I can't even remember how many nights I spend just driving through the streets or flying around on my motorbike while you were asleep in my arms."

"How did mum and dad handle me if Sirius was unavailable then?"

"It didn't happen often, but on the few times he was on a mission for the Order they used the mirror."

"I almost blew up a mission when you called me on your first birthday and I wasn't there yet. I wasn't supposed to come due to a mission but when you called I just couldn't not go. You kept calling me to go follow you while you flew on your first toy broom"

"James was glad for the moment of rest though. He'd been spending hours chasing you on your toy broom and was happy to have Sirius doing the same for the gift he got you in the first place."

"Lily actually wrote me a letter about it; she had just sent it away by owl when I arrived unexpectedly. I should have the picture lying around here somewhere."

"How? You ran away when you were sixteen." Harry asked surprised.

"I kept several precious things in my Vault, including all my pictures. It was a precaution in case Death Eaters attacked us and would destroy everything. Your family Vault should have loads of the personal items of your parents too. You'll be able to enter it when you turn seventeen since I can't exactly take you there before then."

"So...there will be pictures of my parents there?" Harry asked hopeful for more things of his family.

"Yes, from when they were both young till shortly before they died. And loads of personal items, diaries and stuff like that. Lily kept a full diary while she was pregnant. It should be in there too."

"And I can enter it when I turn seventeen?" Harry asked happily.

"Yes, that's when your trust vault disappears and I'm supposed to give you your key to your Family vault."

"You have my key?" Harry asked surprised.

"One of them. Normally a Family vault can only be entered by Head of House and his family. Your grandfather gave me access when they basically adopted me so that I could take money if I wanted to buy something. I never did outside getting school supplies, but I had the option. After you were born James made it official that I could always enter the Potter vaults as your guardian, even if I'd lose my access upon their unexpected death. He had a third key made by the Goblins so that while you were underage I could hold onto it without the Goblins interfering." Sirius explained. "Normally when a Head of House dies and the heir is underage the Goblins hold onto the key of the Family vault. Only the trust vault key is given out to a guardian." He added upon seeing the question on Harry's lips.

"So that is why Dumbledore had my trust vault key? Because he was my guardian when you got imprisoned?" Harry asked.

Sirius snorted. "No, he must have taken the key from my stuff when I got arrested. Dumbledore has never been your guardian and never would be. Your parents had only named me as your guardian if something happened to them but I had named people too in case something happened to me. I told you before that Dumbledore had no right to put you with the Dursley's as he was not your guardian. And the list of people I named was not all unavailable so he really is lucky I don't have him arrested for breaking a Will."

"Who did you name to look after me if you would have died?" Harry asked, curious to who Sirius would have trusted enough to look after him.

"Remus would have been my first choice, though I know it was likely the Ministry wouldn't let him due to his lycophany. My cousin Andromeda was second, I'd seen how she raised Nymphadora and knew she'd take good care of you. Third was Minerva McGonagall. She'd have been a good mother for you, be able to tell you loads of stories about your parents and me and she'd have let Remus be part of your life."

"Professor McGonagall? Seriously?" Harry asked shocked and slightly horrified.

Sirius laughed. "Yes, under that entire rough and strict persona she's actually a very kind woman. She was a friend to your grandparents so we saw her out of school often." He shrugged. "She became part of my small family and one of the few I truly trusted."

Harry smiled at the admittance. "When you had just escaped I had snuck into Hogsmeade and overheard her talking with some others about you. She said she couldn't believe you had done what they said you did. Rosmerta too."

Sirius laughed. "Rosmerta. I haven't seen her in ages. You hated her guts."

"I did?"

Remus laughed too, opening his mouth for the first time in a while again.

"You were absolutely smitten with your Siri. Made quite a few shop owners and cashiers in the supermarket go all aww on you both if anyone so much as dared to smile at Sirius. Rosmerta has the habit of flirting with any handsome young man and Sirius and your dad both qualified. You'd glare at her whenever we stopped at the Three Broomsticks. Didn't have a problem with her flirting up your dad, but the moment she'd turn to Sirius you'd glare at her while grabbing him and saying My Siri! It was really adorable."

Sirius laughed. "I remember that. You'd do that any time someone tried to chat me up."

"I did? What did they say to that?" Harry asked, torn between amusement and being horrified.

"They didn't have much to say as Sirius' answer basically made every living being swoon at his feet in adoration."

"It wasn't that bad" Sirius chuckled.

"It was." Remus argued dryly.

"What did he say then?" Harry asked, noticing Sirius' growing smile and Remus beaming laugh.

"Yours." They answered at the same time and Remus laughed again.

"No one was allowed to come near him outside of the Potters and me. Not even Moody or Dumbledore were allowed to come within touching range or you would do magic to drive them away."

"Even Wormtail?'

"Especially Wormtail. You would get really hysterical if he came to close to Sirius or you. Like you knew he was bad news. Wouldn't stop crying if he tried to pick you up. Worse if he came close to Sirius. You were so possessive of him, which only got worse after the incident."

"Incident?"

"On day when you were a little over a year old Sirius was babysitting you when Death Eaters attacked our apartment. Terrified me when I came home and saw the Dark Mark hanging above our house. But there was no sign of either of you even though there had clearly been a struggle and our wards were torn apart. James and Sirius had arranged that if there was ever any trouble they'd Apparate to Potter Manor, where your grandparents lived, as a safe location. But when the Order arrived at the Manor both of your grandparents were already dead and Sirius was being tortured by several Death Eaters."

Remus took a sip of his cold chocolate milk before he continued.

"We managed to drive them away but there was no sign of you anywhere. James and Lily were beside themselves with fear till Sirius managed to get coherent enough to say you were in a safe location. We didn't realize exactly what he meant till Lily mentioned it Potter Manor should have been a safe location. That was when James suddenly remembered there was a small basement hidden from view that his father had made for Sirius where he could go and hide if he ever got scared. James and he called it their safe location. Upon opening it you were indeed there, scared but completely unharmed. After that you wouldn't let Sirius out of your sight, afraid he'd disappear again."

Sirius smiled. "You shared that opinion with James. He wasn't so keen on letting me leave his sight either after losing his parents so we agreed that I'd move in with the three of you for a while to recover from my injuries since Remus was away on missions a lot anyway. We had loads of fun together."

Harry gave a small smile before he frowned.

"You almost died to protect me didn't you?"

"I would do anything to keep you safe Harry. If that means giving up my life then I would do it in a heartbeat." Sirius answered.

"I know, but you openly tried to protect me despite what they did to you. How could anyone believe you would have ever betrayed my parents and me while they knew that?" He asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. I would have rather died than betray your parents or you and I believed everyone knew that."

"It were difficult times and no one was entirely sure who they could trust. Looking back I still wonder how I could have ever believed Sirius to have been the traitor despite all I know about him. But then I questioned myself to why I believed him to be the spy and the reasons I came up with are weak at best."

"What did you come up with?" Harry asked curiously as he looked at Remus, who sighed.

"As time passed by Sirius got fairly distant from me while we used to be really close. He'd spend more and more time away from home without saying where he went, something I realize now had to do with secret missions from the Order. We were ordered by Dumbledore not to speak to anyone about what we did, not even with one another. Just in case a spy would try to get in tell. We didn't realize that the same precaution also made us wary of one another because of the secrets."

He cleared his throat.

"I also suspect Peter played a big part in it. Little things he said about Sirius that didn't add up and made me question him, despite that I should have known better. Like that he'd seen Sirius at a location Narcissa Malfoy had been at the same time or that he'd seen him in an area we knew to be swarming with Death Eaters. I didn't know he was on missions during those times and believed the worse. And last of all I am very much ashamed to say I started to see Sirius as a Black and not as the Sirius I had always known and trusted."

Remus looked up to Sirius. "I am truly sorry for ever doubting you, despite that I should have known better."

Sirius sighed. "We were both at fault Rem. I agree that Peter and the Order played a large role in my doubting you. James and I always told each other where we were going, regardless of Dumbledore's orders. I didn't take into account that you had always followed the rules where possible and would just be taking those safety precautions seriously. I should have realized about Peter much earlier, the way he kept insinuating that something was up with you, how you distanced yourself from us."

"And the fact that I am a werewolf and the Death Eaters were recruiting them." Remus added but Sirius shook his head.

"I never thought that you'd join because of that. You knew what the Slytherins thought about werewolves and creatures alike. You fought me on every little thing I tried to do for you, too much darn pride for your own good sometimes. If anything your pride would have kept you from joining Voldemorts ranks. If you had been the traitor it would have been any reason but Moony."

Harry glanced at Remus' surprised reaction at Sirius' words. It was very clear he hadn't been expecting that at all.

"We were a bunch of fools." Remus said softly and Sirius nodded.

"That we were."

They fell quiet for a moment as Sirius put the finishing touches to the cake he'd been absentmindedly icing and stood up again to collect something from a draw.

"But enough small talk, close your eyes Harry." He ordered.

Harry frowned but did as he was told without questioning it and Sirius quickly passed Remus some candles which they quickly put onto the cake and Sirius lighted with a wave of his hand.

He nodded to Remus before sitting down again.

"Happy birthday Harry" They said together and Harry opened his eyes, surprised to see the burning candles on the cake.

"The cake was meant for me?" He asked surprised.

"Of course it is. Who else is turning fifteen today?" Sirius asked. "Blow out your candles and make a wish." He ordered lightly.

Harry glanced from Sirius to Remus, who nodded in agreement and then glanced back at the cake.

"You didn't have to go through so much trouble."

Sirius shrugged. "I wanted to. And I am aware that I really don't know you as well as I should have liked to have known you yet, but you used to love this specific cake when you were little so I'm secretly hoping you still like chocolate"

"I do…I…thank you, both of you." Harry said, feeling the now familiar lump come up again as he stared at the two men before him.

"I di.." Remus wanted to object that he hadn't helped at all when Sirius interrupted him.

"No thanks needed, we were delighted to make it. Now make a wish." Sirius ordered again before he softly started to sing happy birthday, Remus joining him quickly.

Harry laughed as they finished and took a deep breath before blowing the candles out…only to find out they didn't go out at all. Sirius and Remus both snickered as he attempted to blow them out twice more.

Glancing up at the two Harry chuckled. "Very funny you two."

"Oh come on…how could we resist doing that." Sirius said with a laugh as he waved his hand over the candles again and this time when Harry blew at them they went out.

"We are Marauders after all." Remus added as he winked at Harry.

Harry smiled before taking the knife Sirius handed him.

"How about you share a piece with us birthday boy?" Sirius asked as he put three plates down and Harry carefully put a piece on each plate before laying down the knife and picking up his fork.

"I don't think Mrs. Weasley will be happy to learn we are eating cake in the middle of the night." He noted with a small hint of amusement.

"Its tough luck for Mrs. Weasley then that this is our house and our rules isn't it." Sirius answered calmly.

Our house. Harry couldn't help but smile at the words Sirius said so casually.

"You know she will be mad with you tomorrow right?" Harry asked just to be sure Sirius knew what he was getting himself into. Mrs. Weasley's temper was widely known in most of the Wizarding World and although that temper had never been directed at him he rather not have it directed at Sirius either.

"When isn't she mad at him?" Remus asked, making Sirius laugh.

"True, she thinks I am irresponsible, shouldn't be trusted and a danger to your safety because I believe in not keeping you out of the loop." Sirius said, not looking the least bit bothered.

"Aren't you the least bit afraid of her temper? Almost everyone is."

Remus snorted and Sirius' only answer was a wide smile that looked a tiny bit on the insane side if Harry was completely honest with himself.

"What?"

"Sirius got given a lecture by McGonagall on an almost daily basis, which often started consisted of her screaming his name through the great hall, along your father of course, before she dragged them off to her office to lecture them severely."

"McGonagall got quite scary when James and I truly pissed her off." Sirius commented with such a joyful expression Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"But I think the biggest reason why Molly makes absolutely no impression on him is because of his mother. I only had the displeasure of truly meeting that hag once when she showed up at Hogwarts early in sixth year after Sirius had ran away. She caught him by surprise and cornered him in the great hall, screaming his ears off about what a disgrace he was and how much of a blood traitor he was and that the family would be disgraced because of his actions. And Sirius just stood there before Silencing her when she insulted the Potters and basically telling her she was an old hag not worth his attention and if she wanted to open that disgusting mouth of hers she should go find her son and yell at him because Sirius was not interested in the worlds of a woman he would be ashamed to be associating with. He then spelled her to eat soap because in his opinion someone who spoke words like Mudblood and blood traitor could use a bit of mouth cleaning and who knew, it might actually clean some of the filth and stench away from her ugly mug. He then turned his back on her and almost skipped away happily to go to us, leaving her standing there, surrounded by half the school."

Remus smiled at Harry's shocked expression and Sirius burst out laughing.

"So you see Molly is unlikely to ever make an impression on me." He managed to get out before bursting into laughter again.

Harry didn't stop staring at Sirius with an open mouth for at least a minute before he managed to blink and exclaimed. "You said all that right to her face in a full great hall?!"

Sirius shrugged. "She didn't have the decency to yell at me in private so I didn't see why I should give her the same luxury."

"You are insane!"

"So I've been told by a variety of people during the years." Sirius said dryly and Remus chuckled.

"Absolutely mad. It is just a shame he's so absolutely brilliant and clever to combine with that madness. Often us Marauders had to fear for our own sanity if he got an idea he wanted to follow."

"Such as?"

"Learning to drive a bike, breaking into Filch's office to paint everything pink, trying to get cat McGonagall to chase Peter in rat form, and stealing Dumbledore's candy."

"You _stole_ Dumbledore's candy?"

"Yes, it really wasn't all that hard. The password to his office was always based upon some kind of candy so it was just a matter of guessing the right one and trying to enter undetected by the Gargoyles and getting out of there again the same way. Fawkes actually helped me once when I got cornered when Dumbledore unexpectedly returned early from a diversion James had set up elsewhere in the castle to lure him out. Grabbed me and in a flash I was back in Gryffindor Tower, the bag filled with his candy stock in my hands. We had loads of fun displaying small parts of that stock at various areas in the castle for him to find again. Of course we had to time it perfectly with the Marauder Map so that we'd be sure Dumbledore was the one who'd find it and not someone else."

Remus snickered. "I was absolutely terrified when the Headmaster picked up his lemon drops and his beard and hair turned blue. Not to mention the color rainbow they turned when he put a candy into his mouth after testing it with his wand for spells. Awestruck, but terrified he'd know we were responsible."

"How could he have not known? Although he's never been able to prove it was us since we were smart enough to not change him into Gryffindor colors like Peter wanted. He was fun to try and throw pranks at because he took usually took it into stride. McGonagall however was not as amused when we'd prank her. I remember she got especially mad when we charmed a bunch of fishes to swim around her head for a couple of hours one day."

"How did you four ever survive long enough to become adults?" Harry asked shocked at their nerve.

Remus shrugged. "We never played pranks that would actually hurt people. Changed them different colors, we make them sing opera style for a full day once after James' parents had taken Sirius to see one. Have the entire school talk in limerick or gave various students different body parts and stuff like that. Sirius accidentally changed James into a bird once. James had been singing love songs all day for Lily on Valentine's Day, annoying us all. And Sirius eventually told him that if he wanted to sing he should become a bird. And while he was saying it James turned into one. It was quite hilarious, I still don't know who was more shocked, James in his bird form or Sirius at having actually done it. He hadn't been holding his wand and hadn't even thought of a spell and yet James was a bird. When we finally managed to change him back again he was as perplex as Sirius was. He did say he had a lot of fun sitting on Sirius' shoulder all day, twittering and singing in his ear."

"We never did find out how I'd managed to do that though. I was too old to be using accidental magic and even for wand less magic I'd have needed to think of an incarnation. And James was absolutely sure it had been my magic that changed him." Sirius laughed. "McGonagall tried to help us change him back but she couldn't undo what I had done. Remus was the one who had eventually had the idea I should think of James in his human form and that did the trick."

They all shared a chuckle as Harry tried to imagine his father as a bird and the other two remembered it.

"I bet you have millions of stories like that." Harry said with a laugh.

"If I can access the Black vaults I could actually show you those memories. There should be a pensive there somewhere."

"That would be great." Harry said happy.

"But that's for later; let's first eat this cake before turning in for some more sleep shall we?" Remus suggested and Harry nodded before taking a bite of his cake. He chewed on it before the taste reached his senses and he swallowed quickly.

"Wow! This really is good!" He exclaimed and Sirius smiled.

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it."

"I do. I never thought I'd find any cake that could beat Mrs. Weasley's but this is so much better than any cake she ever made."

"Let's not tell her that shall we?" Sirius said softly, a slight line of worry edging into his face, making Harry laugh as he realized that even if Sirius didn't fear Mrs. Weasley's temper, he also didn't want to call it upon himself without having to.

"I'll keep my mouth shut if you teach me how to make this." Harry bargained.

"Deal."

"And how will you two keep me quiet?" Remus asked with a teasing tone in his voice.

"You'll keep your mouth shut if you want to be Harry's guinea pig." Sirius said with a wink to Harry.

"Fair enough." Remus answered with a laugh.

Both Sirius and Harry cheered at him before they continued to eat their cake in comfortable silence.

After they were all done Sirius took their plates, cleaning them up while Remus put the rest of the cake into the fridge.

"We will give you your birthday presents tomorrow, for now you really need to get some more sleep or I'm certain we will all get some infamous Weasley temper thrown at us if we all fall asleep during your party."

Sirius and Harry snickered and Sirius threw his arms around Harry from behind. "I'll just hide behind Harry. She'd never dare to yell at him on his birthday" He said teasingly as Harry laughed at the action.

"Coward." He accused teasingly.

"It is entirely healthy to be a coward once in a while. Especially when faced with a smothering mother hen on a rampage. It is considered the safest option." He answered easily, snuggling against Harry easily.

Harry let him, leaning back into his hug. He probably should have felt uncomfortable hugging someone as he wasn't entirely used to people hugging him besides Hermione and occasionally Mrs. Weasley but somehow he didn't mind when Sirius hugged him. It made him feel safe and content and from the soft hum Sirius gave he was happy to be hugging him too, just holding him close. Maybe it was partly because he'd just learned just how deeply his godfather cared about him or maybe it was because he loved his godfather too. But at any rate, Harry felt completely happy and content as he let out a yawn.

Sirius moved his arms from Harry's middle to put them on his shoulders and turned him towards the stairs. "Bedtime." He said softly and Remus, who had been calmly leaning against the wall besides them shifted as he stood straight again with a nod.

Harry only had a moment to realize he didn't feel embarrassed to have been hugged by his godfather while Remus saw as he was suddenly picked up.

"Sirius!" He called out as Sirius picked him up bridal style and Harry flung his arms around his neck automatically to get a grip.

"Oh, so you haven't fallen asleep on me after all." Sirius teased as he shifted him a bit higher in his arms and tickled his side.

"Put me down" Harry laughed as he squirmed away from Sirius' tickling fingers while Remus laughed at them.

"Nope. Won't do to have you falling down the stairs in your sleepy state." Sirius said cheerily as he began to walk up the stairs, his arms firmly around Harry as if he was going to fall if he loosened his grip.

Harry laughed again before simply holding onto Sirius, letting his godfather carry him up the stairs like a small infant. He was too tired to argue and he didn't really mind Sirius being so openly affectionate and caring. He figured that while he himself had not known much love in his childhood Sirius youth would only have been worse and Harry vaguely wondered if the occasional touch Remus and he himself gave his godfather were the only human touches he ever received. Sirius always seemed like such a strong and somewhat distant person. Harry had not a single memory of Sirius ever touching anyone outside the two of them and he decided that he really should be more openly affectionately with Sirius. Even if they were in company. After all, even if the others would laugh because of it, should he really care what they thought? People always talked about him anyway no matter what he did and it would be nice to be this close to Sirius more often. Sirius was always there for him every night when he woke up from nightmares.

Come to think of it, Sirius was always already in the kitchen when Harry stumbled downstairs, no matter what time it was. And in the aftermath of what he had learned about his godfather today it wasn't that unbelievable to think the man had nightmares of his own that prevented him from sleep. If he had had so many nightmares as a teenager it only stood to reason that those multiplied after twelve years in Azkaban. So not only for his own benefit but also for that of his godfather Harry knew he'd like to make an attempt to do so. Especially since Sirius himself had said it helped a lot to be wrapped in the arms of someone you loved.

He got pulled out of his tired thoughts by the feeling of being put down on a bed, Sirius' bed to be exact and realized he had closed his eyes somewhere along the way. He was about to open them again but decided they were to heavy when he felt Sirius loosely tug him in and remove his glasses before a soft kiss was pressed to his forehead and Sirius' weight disappeared from the bed completely. He felt content and he didn't want to fight his heavy eyes on the off chance this was all a happy dream and he'd wake up on his small bed besides Ron again.

He heard Sirius and Remus softly say good night to one another before the door closed and he believed himself to be alone. His heart clenched at the thought, he didn't want Sirius to leave, but before the thought could truly take shape enough for him to panic he heard the sound of Sirius as he shifted into Padfoot and the weight on the bed dipped a little as Padfoot curled up on the bed end and a small weight settled on Harry's lower legs, telling him Padfoot rested his head there. The small contact was comforting and Harry let himself slide into a happy sleep, surrounded by the warmth Padfoot applied as he lay curled up against his legs.

Xxxxxxx

Somehow, a simple one shot about Sirius baking a cake for Harry for his birthday totally got away with me and this is the result. I am aware that I switch POV's between Harry, Remus and third person quite often but I can't get it to work properly when I tried to change it. Sorry for that.

Hope you liked it, reviews are always loved.


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